Lauriver Chronicles

Chapter 44

Tommy Merlyn was currently standing in his penthouse apartment, fresh off his training session with members of the Thanatos Guild to keep his skills sharp and now he was staring out the window at the Glades and as he did, he felt his blood boiling in anger at the thought of that rotten, waste of space. In his mind, they were doing the city a favor by demolishing it. His mother had given her life to the Glades, devoted her time to helping its people with her free clinic bringing healthcare to the people of the Glades who couldn't afford to go to a hospital. And they'd repaid her kindness by shooting her and letting her bleed out on the street, walking past her.

And now his blood was boiling at the thought of the current problem in Glades. Oliver Queen. The man that had once been his best friend now brought nothing but rage to his mind. And he had ever since he'd, in Tommy's mind, stolen Laurel from him. They'd both loved Laurel Lance, but she could only choose one of them and for some reason, she'd chosen Oliver over him. Or more accurately, Oliver had stolen her from him. Tommy first thought that he might have a shot with Laurel when Oliver was overseas, but if anything, she just became even more loyal to him and the one time he'd actually tried to make a move under the guise of offering comfort while her boyfriend was overseas and she'd responded by hitting him in several painful places before he managed to play it off as a misunderstanding, not that she'd believed him and it had taken some serious groveling and to his shame, begging on his part to not only get Laurel to forgive him, but also to get her to agree not to tell Oliver about it, since at the time, he'd been a bit scared of his former friend, since Oliver was a soldier while he was still an entitled playboy.

And then he'd just about given up hope on ever getting another chance with Laurel after Oliver had proposed to her. So when Oliver had told him about his fight with his father over his half sister Emiko, Tommy had encouraged him to go on the Queen's Gambit with him for one reason. Because Tommy had known that his own father had planted a bomb of the Queen's Gambit to take out Robert before he could make any moves to stop the Undertaking, he'd encouraged Oliver to go on the Gambit with Robert to confront him, hoping that Oliver would go down with the ship and his father.

And when he had, Tommy thought that he'd finally get his shot with Laurel, since while she'd been grieving, she was also finally free from Oliver, which meant he'd stand a chance with her now. Or at least, that had been his plan until he'd found out that Oliver had still managed to get the drop on him with Laurel being pregnant with his child, which ruined any chance of Tommy ever winning Laurel's affections. And that was when he'd finally gone all in on his father's plans, becoming one of his most trusted enforcers.

And speaking of his father, Tommy didn't even flinch when he heard the door to his apartment be flung open and Malcolm came storming in.

"What the hell did you do?" Malcolm asked.

"What are you talking about?" Tommy asked, playing dumb without turning around, only to have his father turn him forcefully.

"You abducted Moira Queen? Against my orders to leave her and her family alone?" Malcolm asked.

"She was getting cold feet, just like her husband did. She'll be well taken care of until the Undertaking. And then she'll just be another one of the casualties, a tragic end to someone who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time." Tommy said callously.

"What happened to you? I know I trained you thoroughly, but this is too extreme and it's brought too much light onto our operations. You're risking everything I've worked towards since your mother died." Malcolm said.

"Only because you lack the will to do what needs to be done. What happened to the man who put a bomb on his best friend's boat? He would've been fine with this play." Tommy asked as Malcolm began to realize that maybe he'd done a bit of too good of a job in removing Tommy's weaknesses.

"You're risking the Undertaking." Malcolm said.

"No, I'm ensuring its success. Just like you programmed me too. And when it's over, the Green Arrow will be dead and the Glades will be rubble. The city will be ripe for rebuilding." Tommy said.

"You're insane." Malcolm realized.

"And what does that say about you? We're so close to everything you ever wanted, and yet you get upset because I removed a defective game piece?" Tommy asked.

"You went rogue and could've jeopardized our operations." Malcolm said.

"I made sure there's no way the abduction could be tied back to us. Like you trained me to do." Tommy said.

"Regardless, it's clear that I've given you too much leeway. You're confined to this apartment until the Undertaking is complete and then I'll decide what to do with you. Now I have to go and clean up your mess. Once again." Malcolm said as he moved to leave, only to have members of his own Thanatos Guild stop him.

"What is the meaning of this?" Malcolm asked as he saw members of his own organization siding with his son over him. Even his other second in command Athena.

"You've grown soft Al Sah Her. You are no longer worthy of leading the Thanatos Guild." Athena said as she took her place at Tommy's side.

"You really think that you can betray me like this?" Malcolm asked as Tommy grabbed a sword.

"You've outgrown your purpose father. It's time for new leadership to take over." Tommy said as he charged his father and attempted to strike him down, only for Malcolm to dodge.

"Don't forget who taught you how to fight Tommy. Think carefully before you do this." Malcolm said as he grabbed another sword, since while he didn't want to kill his own son, he'd do whatever he had to in order to protect himself and his mission. A mission he would not let Tommy usurp.

"I've learned everything I can from you. And I'm done living under your heel." Tommy said as the two engaged in a heated sword duel until finally, Tommy found an opening and thrust his sword into his father's chest.

"While I doubt you'll see her in death, if you do, tell mom I love her and that I'm doing this for you." Tommy said with a sick grin as he watched the light fade from his father's eyes as he died.

"Get rid of the body. We'll need to find a way to explain his death." Tommy said and Athena nodded.

"You heard him. Do as our leader commands." Athena said.

"And send word that with the capture of Tigress, I'm accelerating our timetable. I don't want to take the chance she can help Green Arrow and his lackeys beat us." Tommy said.

"Right away." Athena nodded in agreement as she left his side and Tommy grinned as he went back to looking out the window.

"Soon this city will die and a new one will rise from its ashes." Tommy said with a grin.